Swivl, the Swiveling Smartphone Dock, Slashes Price

Swivl, the crowdfunded swiveling smartphone dock that uses sensors to follow your movement like a miniature cameraman, is getting a price cut.

A new version of Swivl, called Swivl-it, will cost $129 — down from $179 — and will come with fewer bells and whistles. Swivl-it will still automatically move from side to side, as the original device does, but it will require manual vertical tilting. Also, the little remote that comes with the new Swivl won’t act as a microphone, though the accessory is upgradeable for $49 if you’d prefer that it work as a mic.

I first reviewed Swivl for AllThingsD back in March, and while I thought it was a cool device that video bloggers and non-techies alike would appreciate, I wrote at the time that $179 was a lot to pay for a moving iPhone stand.

The dock physically supports other devices, such as an Android smartphone, a slim digital camera and even the ol’ Flip camera, but the compatible Swivl mobile app only works with iPhone, which means other smartphone users couldn’t use the microphone-equipped Swivl remote to record their voices directly to the app.

The microphone is a nifty accessory, but Swivl maker Satarii is hoping a more basic version will turn the heads of non-iPhone users.

It’s a good time for a price cut, too, since other products like this Kickstarter project perform many of the same functions as the Swivl, and for a few dollars less, too.

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